This Thing We Call Life
by the Five of Spades
Summary: 11 years of secrets are about to come back and bite Hermione in the @$$, but what she's worried about most is how Harry will react when he finds out the secret she's been hiding from him the last 11 years; a daughter
1. A New Beginning

Title: This Thing We Call Life  
  
E-mail: i_am_protected_by_witchcraft@yahoo.com  
  
Summery: PG-13, 11 years of secrets are about to come back and bite Hermione in the @$$, but what she's worried about most is how Harry will react when he finds out the secret she's been hiding from him the last 11 years; a daughter.  
  
Rating: PG-13  
  
Spoilers: Books 1-5  
  
Disclaimers: I do not own anything and I am not making any money off this fic.  
  
A/N: don't flame me on my sucky spelling or grammar, I have no beta-reader.  
  
^*^*^*^*^*^  
  
Chapter 1: A New Beginning  
  
^*^*^*^*^*^  
  
Twenty-eight year old Hermione Granger was sitting on her balcony watching the sunset; she knew it was coming tomorrow and she knew there was nothing she could do about it. Eleven years of lies were going to come back and bite her in the ass by this time tomorrow and she knew that she was going to have to return to the wizarding world and she knew that nothing was going to be scarier, including Voldemort, when Harry found out he had a child that he didn't even know about.  
  
They started going out in about the about middle of sixth year; they only slept together once, in the middle of October in their final year at Hogwarts, and they continued to go out until she left. About a month after they slept together Hermione had a nagging feeling that she was pregnant, but she was too embarrassed to go to Madam Pomfrey about it, so she just wore slightly baggy clothes until she went home for Christmas. About a week before Christmas, when Hermione's parents were at work, she went to a local muggle market for a home pregnancy test: it was positive. She had not seen her parents or anyone from Hogwarts since that day, but that was all going to change.  
  
^*^*^*^*^*^  
  
The front door the her apartment opened, "I'm back, mom!"  
  
"Okay, Lily," Hermione called back.  
  
Lily came out onto the balcony and looked at her mother, "What's wrong mom?" Lily asked.  
  
Hermione looked at her daughter, she was small and skinny for her age, had waist length brown hair that was always a little messy no matter how many times you combed through it, and the brightest green eyes you've ever seen.  
  
"Earth to mom," Lily said waving a hand in front of her mother's face.  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"What's wrong?"  
  
"Nothing," Hermione lied.  
  
"You're a bad liar, mom," Lily stated.  
  
"I'll tell you tomorrow okay, Lily?"  
  
"Okay."  
  
"There's pizza sitting on the table if you want any," Hermione said changing the subject.  
  
"Okay."  
  
"I'm going to bed, `night Lily," said Hermione, heading into her bedroom. Hermione laid in bed till about one when she finally got to sleep.  
  
Lily fell asleep watching TV, the question of what was worrying her mother was floating around in her head.  
  
^*^*^*^*^*^  
  
Lily woke up to the phone ringing, "Hello?" asked a groggy Lily.  
  
"Hey, Lily, do you want to come over to my house today?" Lily's friend, Amy, asked.  
  
"I can't today, Amy. Sorry, family stuff," said Lily, remembering that her mother promised her to tell her what was wrong.  
  
"Oh, okay. Happy birthday then, see ya."  
  
"Thanks, see ya." Lily hung up the phone.  
  
If it hadn't been for Amy, Lily would have completely forgotten that today, July 15, was her eleventh birthday, she looked at the clock and saw it was 11:30 in the morning, she decided to get the mail assuming her mother was still asleep.  
  
^*^*^*^*^*^  
  
Lily was about to go outside to get the mail when she saw her mother in the kitchen with a letter in her hands.  
  
"Mail for you Lily," Hermione said with a sigh, handing her daughter the envelope.  
  
Lily took the envelope, but didn't even look at it, "Mom, you said you were going to tell me what was wrong."  
  
Lily was so busy looking at her mother she didn't even notice the owl sitting on the chair near her.  
  
"Read your letter first."  
  
Lily examined the envelope; it was thick and heavy, made of yellowish parchment, the address was written in green ink, the front of it read:  
  
Miss. L. Granger  
  
Kitchen  
  
Apartment 65  
  
Los Angeles, California, USA  
  
Lily opened the letter and read it aloud:  
  
HOGWARTS SCHOOL  
of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY  
  
Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore  
(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock,  
Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. Of Wizards)  
  
Dear Miss. Granger,  
  
We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.  
  
Term begins on September 1. We await your owl by no later than July 31.  
  
Yours sincerely,  
  
Minerva McGonagall,  
  
Deputy Headmistress  
  
Lily looked at her mother that to the letter than back again at her mother, "Is this real?" Lily asked in disbelief.  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Are-are you a witch?" Lily asked.  
  
"Yes."  
  
Lily stared at her mother, "Prove it, prove that this is no joke!"  
  
Hermione sighed and left the kitchen and came back a minute later with her wand, "Accio Letter" she said and pointed her wand at Lily's letter and the letter came flying out of Lily's hand and into Hermione's, Hermione looked at it, "So, Dumbledore is still Headmaster, that doesn't surprise me."  
  
"What? How? Huh?" was all Lily could say.  
  
"Lily sit down, I need to tell you something I should have told you long ago, this may take awhile."  
  
Lily sat down and Hermione told her everything. After she was down, about an hour later, Lily stared for a minute before regaining he ability to speak.  
  
"So, there's a secret world of wizards and witches, I'm the daughter of one of the most famous wizards to have ever lived, and he doesn't know I exist, so now I can't hate him for not being around, and I've been accepted to a wizarding school?" Lily asked.  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Cool!" Lily said.  
  
"Cool?" Hermione repeated.  
  
"Well, I'm kind of pissed that you didn't tell me sooner, but I under stand. Can I go?" Lily said.  
  
"If you want to, yes, but we are going to have to move to England to do so."  
  
Lily thought for a minute, "You don't mind moving to England, having to get a new job, having to face the world you left?"  
  
"Hogwarts was a great experience for me and I don't mind having to move or get a new job for you, and as for my past, it will catch up with me sooner or later."  
  
"I want to go." Lily stated.  
  
"Okay, I'll write he reply to Hogwarts." 


	2. Like Father, Like Daughter

Title: This Thing We Call Life  
  
E-mail: i_am_protected_by_witchcraft@yahoo.com  
  
Summery: PG-13, 11 years of secrets are about to come back and bite Hermione in the @$$, but what she's worried about most is how Harry will react when he finds out the secret she's been hiding from him the last 11 years; a daughter.  
  
Rating: PG-13  
  
Spoilers: Books 1-5 There is *slight* OotP spoilers in this chappy, nothing huge, and nothing about the death, yet, but it may come up in later chapters.  
  
Disclaimers: I do not own anything and I am not making any money off this fic.  
  
A/N: Thank you for the review! I'm so happy! I hope you like this chappy, it's much longer than my usual ones, I hope you enjoy it. And I'm looking for a beta-reader incase anyone is interested. FYI, I might be changing my pen name soon so the next time you read this story my PEN NAME will be different, but the title of this story will be the SAME.  
  
*&^*&^*&^*&^  
  
Chapter 2: Like Father, Like Daughter  
  
*&^*&^*&^*&^  
  
Three weeks later, after many sad good byes, Hermione and Lily were in England. They had found an apartment slightly bigger than the one back in California, Hermione was still looking for a new job, but they had enough money for now.  
  
Hermione was finishing putting away her stuff, when she came across a picture of her, Harry, and Ron that was taken in front of the Hogwarts Express at the beginning of their seventh and final year.  
  
"Mom," Lily said as she walked into her mother's room, "when are we going to get my school supplies?"  
  
"We'll leave in a few minutes," Hermione said, still looking at the of photo, "But I want to show you this."  
  
"What?" Lily said moving over to her mother.  
  
"This is a picture of your me, father, and our best friend, Ron. Your father is the one with the black hair," Hermione said, handing her daughter the picture.  
  
Lily's eyes widened in shock, "THE PICTURE'S MOVING!"  
  
Hermione chuckled, "Oh, I forgot to mention that, pictures in the wizarding world move."  
  
"Oh," Lily said, "Why's dad's hair all messy, did he forget to comb it?"  
  
Hermione laughed, "No. With Harry's hair, no matter how many times you combed it, it would never lay flat, that's why your hair is always a little messy. You have his eye's too."  
  
"Oh," Lily said, not sure if she should be happy or sad by this.  
  
"You can keep the picture if you want, go get some shoes on, we're going to Diagon Alley," Hermione said handing her daughter the picture.  
  
"Diagon Alley?" Lily asked taking the picture.  
  
"It's the best place to go to get your school supplies. If a few blocks away, so we'll walk because I haven't got the floo network hooked up yet."  
  
"Floo?"  
  
Hermione sighed, knowing there was so much stuff the she had to explain to her daughter about the wizarding world, and explained to her daughter about the floo network as they walked to The Leaky Cauldron.  
  
*&^*&^*&^*&^  
  
"Here we are," Hermione said.  
  
"This is Diagon Alley?" Lily asked.  
  
"No, this is The Leaky Cauldron, behind it is Diagon Alley," Hermione explained.  
  
"Okay," Lily said as they went inside.  
  
"Hogwarts?" Tom, the barkeeper, asked.  
  
"Yes," Hermione replied.  
  
"Do you need me to open the barrier?" Tom asked.  
  
"That would be nice, long time since I've been here," Hermione said.  
  
"Okay, fallow me," Tom said moving out from the bar and taking them behind The Leaky Cauldron, he tapped the bricks and they moved to form an arch.  
  
"Wow..." was all Lily could say.  
  
*&^*&^*&^*&^  
  
As they walked into Diagon Alley, heading towards Gringotts, Lily was looking around at all the different stores when one particular one stood out, "Mom?" Lily asked.  
  
"What, Lily?" Hermione asked.  
  
"What's Quidditch?" Lily asked still staring at the store that had a broomstick in the window.  
  
Hermione laughed, Lily had never even met her father, yet she was so much like him, "Quidditch is like basket ball to the wizarding world. (a/n: I would have used football, but then we get into the whole American/British football/soccer thing and it confuses me way too damn much.) Everyone fallows it, I can't explain it that well. Unlike my friends, who were obsessed with, I never completely understood it, but we can get you a book on it when we go to get your school books."  
  
"Okay," Lily said, this new sport looked interesting and that was just from looking at the shop.  
  
When the finally reached Gringotts Lily looked at the building then looked at what was standing in front of it, "Mom, are those..."  
  
"Yes, those are goblins."  
  
Once Hermione and Lily were inside, Hermione headed over to the counter, "Good afternoon," Hermione said to a free goblin, "We've come to withdraw money from Hermione Granger's safe."  
  
"Do you have the key, miss?" the goblin asked.  
  
"Yes," Hermione said handing him the key.  
  
The goblin looked at is closely, "Everything seems to be in order."  
  
He led them down to the carts and after about few minutes they arrived at a volt and the goblin opened it.  
  
"Wow..." Lily said.  
  
"You seem to be saying that a lot today," Hermione said.  
  
"Well, a lot of things I've seen today are 'wow' worthy," Lily said and looked around at the money in the volt, "THEIR MONEY'S DIFFERENT TOO!"  
  
Hermione chuckled, "Yes," she said and then explained the money to Lily before putting some in a bag and getting back into the cart.  
  
*&^*&^*&^*&^  
  
After they left Gringotts, they headed towards Flourish and Blotts to get Lily's school books, after Lily got all her school books Hermione let Lily pick out two other books, she picked Hogwarts, A History and Quidditch Throughout the Ages; Hermione surpassed a laugh at this.  
  
"Do we have everything, mom?" Lily asked an hour and a half later.  
  
"No, we need to get two more things. Do you want an owl, cat, or toad?" Hermione asked.  
  
"What would you suggest?" Lily asked.  
  
"Well, they're all suppose to be pets, but with an owl you can send mail." Hermione said.  
  
"Send mail?" Lily asked.  
  
"Yes, Owl Post," Hermione said, "See in the wizarding world we send letters by owl."  
  
"Kind of like carrier pidgins?" Lily asked.  
  
"In a muggle since, yeah."  
  
"Muggle?" Lily asked.  
  
"Non-magical people."  
  
"Oh...I think I want an owl," Lily said.  
  
"Okay," Hermione said and the headed off to Eeylops Owl Emporium.  
  
Right a way Lily saw the one she wanted, "Mom, can I have that one," Lily said, pointing to a snowy whit owl with bright green eyes.  
  
Hermione smiled, "Sure," she said and bought the owl for her daughter.  
  
"What's left?" Lily asked.  
  
"The one thing a witch or wizard should never be with out."  
  
"What's that?"  
  
"A wand," Hermione said.  
  
Lily's face broke into a huge smile as they headed for Ollivanders.  
  
*&^*&^*&^*&^  
  
"Hello," said a soft voice from behind the counter.  
  
"Hello, Mr. Ollivander," Hermione said.  
  
"Hermione Granger! Seventeen years since I've last seen you! Willow and phoenix feather, ten and a half inches, slightly springy." Mr. Ollivander said. (A/N: Did they ever say what Hermione's wand was made out of? Well if the do could someone e-mail it to me or leave in their review.)  
  
"That's right, Mr. Ollivander," Hermione said.  
  
"Ah," Mr. Ollivander said, looking at Lily, "this must be yours and Mr. Potter's daughter, correct?"  
  
"Yes...How did you know?" Hermione asked.  
  
"Well, Albus Dumbledore told me," Mr. Ollivander said, "And is there anything Albus Dumbledore doesn't know?"  
  
"Yes, there isn't anything Albus Dumbledore doesn't know, but please don't tell anyone," Hermione said.  
  
"Your secrets safe with me," Mr. Ollivander said.  
  
He came out from behind the counter, got out the tape measure and it started measuring Lily.  
  
"Which is your wand hand?" He asked.  
  
"Umm..." was all Lily could say.  
  
"Right," Hermione answered for her daughter.  
  
"That will do," he said and the tape measure stopped and fell to the ground.  
  
"Well, lets see if you take after your mother or father when it comes to finding your wand," Mr. Ollivander said before going to the back and coming out with a few wands.  
  
"What about my mother and father?" Lily asked.  
  
"Well, you see, your mother found her wand, or the wand found her because it's the wand that chooses the wizard, on her second try; but your father, well, we went through dozens of wands until we found one." Mr. Ollivander said before handing her a wand, "Oak and unicorn hair, thirteen inches, very whippy."  
  
Lily waved it and Mr. Ollivander grabbed it out of her hand.  
  
"No, that won't do. Here, try this one, Maple and phoenix feather, nine inches, rather bendy."  
  
Lily took it and gave it a wave and Mr. Ollivander took it out of her hand. After about a half and hour, Lily felt like she had tried just about every wand in the shop.  
  
"Like your father then are we? It makes me wonder..." Mr. Ollivander said be for going back into the back of the shop.  
  
"Wonder what?" Lily called after him.  
  
Mr. Ollivander returned about five minutes later with a box so dusty it looked like it hadn't been touched in over a hundred years.  
  
"This wand has been looking for a counterpart of over a thousand years," Mr. Ollivander said.  
  
"A thousand years!" Lily said.  
  
"Yes, this shop has been around since 382 B.C. and this wand has just been sitting never finding the right match," Mr. Ollivander said, dusting off the top of the box and taking out the wand, "mahogany wood feather from the wing of a gryphon, ten and a quarter inches long, nice and supple."  
  
Lily took the wand in her hand and a sudden warmth spread through her body she waved the wand and scarlet and golden sparks flew out of it. (A/N: sound familiar?)  
  
Mr. Ollivander had a slight smile on his face, "Just like her father," Mr. Ollivander muttered, "Well, I'm glad that that has finally chosen someone, that will be seven Galleons and three Sickles."  
  
Hermione paid Mr. Ollivander for the wand than she and Lily went to go get some ice cream.  
  
*&^*&^*&^*&^  
  
"Thanks, mom," Lily said as the left the ice cream shop.  
  
"No, problem," Hermione said.  
  
As they were walking out of Diagon Ally a store caught Lily's attention, "Mon, can we go in there?" Lily asked, point to a store that had a sign that said 'Weasley's Wizard Wheezes'.  
  
"No," Hermione said flatly with a slight fear in her voice.  
  
"Why?" Lily asked.  
  
"Remember that redheaded boy in that picture I showed you?" Hermione asked, Lily just nodded, "His name was Ron. Ron Weasley."  
  
"Oh," Lily said.  
  
"His brothers own that shop and I know I will have to face my past sooner or later, but I was hoping for later," Hermione said.  
  
"Okay," Lily said, and they left Diagon Ally and walked back to their flat getting strange looks at the owl Lily was carrying on the way.  
  
*&^*&^*&^*&^  
  
Harry was sitting at his desk in his office looking over some papers when he heard a knock on the door, "It's open," he said, not looking up from his papers.  
  
"You know, Harry, you can't continue this search when classes start," Harry's friend, Remus Lupin, said.  
  
"Good thing I have about three more weeks," Harry said, still not looking up from his papers.  
  
"Harry, she's been gone for eleven years, twelve this December, I've got the feeling that if she doesn't want to be found, your not going to find her," Remus said.  
  
"Try not to be too optimistic, Remus," Harry said sarcastically.  
  
"Harry, how long has it been since you've had any sort of a lead?" Remus said, knowing it had been months since Harry had told him about the last lead.  
  
"About ten minutes," Harry said.  
  
"What?" Remus said crossing over to Harry.  
  
Harry finally looked up from his papers, "I got an owl ten minutes ago from Fleur, it seems that some money was taken out of Miss. Hermione Granger's Gringotts account in Diagon Ally this afternoon, the first time any money has been withdrawn since a week before Christmas almost twelve years ago," Harry said, showing Remus the letter.  
  
Remus looked at the letter, "Don't get too hopeful, Harry; we've had bigger leads and we've never found her before."  
  
"I'm not being hopeful, I'm being optimistic," Harry said.  
  
"Harry, optimistic and hopeful mean the same thing," Remus said.  
  
"Who gives a damn! I've been searching for her for over eleven years; I'm not going to give up now. I'm going to floo to Diagon Ally ask around, see if they found her," Harry said, getting up and leaving the room.  
  
Remus didn't even make a move to stop him, Harry loved Hermione so much and he was so determined there was no point to try and stop him, there was nothing he could do, Harry was an adult now and could make his own decisions and he would just get mad at Remus for trying to stop him.  
  
A/N: Thanks for reading plz review! 


	3. Welcome to the Wizarding World

Title: This Thing We Call Life  
  
E-mail: i_am_protected_by_witchcraft@yahoo.com  
  
Summery: PG-13, 11 years of secrets are about to come back and bite Hermione in the @$$, but what she's worried about most is how Harry will react when he finds out the secret she's been hiding from him the last 11 years; a daughter.  
  
Rating: PG-13  
  
Spoilers: Books 1-5 There is *slight* OotP spoilers in this chappy, nothing huge, and nothing about the death, yet, but it may come up in later chapters.  
  
Disclaimers: I do not own anything and I am not making any money off this fic.  
  
A/N: Thank you for the reviews! I'm so happy! I hope you guys like this chappy! My chapters my be coming out a little slower as school is starting here, but in a few weeks they should be more regular. Oh, and Brownie Points to who knows what my new pen name (Five of Spades) means. On with the next chapter.  
  
&*&*&*&*&*&  
  
Chapter 3: Welcome to the Wizarding World  
  
"How does she do it, Remus?" Harry asked.  
  
"I don't know, Harry."  
  
"Our first lead in months, when we go to check it out it was obvious that she'd been in Diagon Ally and The Leaky Cauldron, but she hasn't been seen anywhere else in these past three weeks," Harry said disgruntled.  
  
"Well, Harry, you are going to have to put your search on hold because the students will be here in a couple of hours," Remus said.  
  
"I know, Remus, I have to put my search on hold," Harry said, looking as thought Remus had told him this about twenty times today.  
  
"One other thing, Harry, and don't get mad at me for saying this, I know you love Hermione." Remus started.  
  
"But?"  
  
"But.if she wanted to be found she would have by now, it's been over eleven years, I think it's time you moved on," Remus said, expecting Harry to blow up at him at anytime now.  
  
"I know," Harry said, surprising Lupin, "And I've tried, but I can't, not knowing why she left and where she is, if-when I find her I don't expect to get back together, though it would be nice, I just want to know that she is safe and why she left," Harry sighed, "if I drove her away."  
  
"Harry, don't say that, it wasn't you," Remus tried to assure him.  
  
"We don't know, but I will find out," Harry said.  
  
"Harry, why don't you use your time teaching here to clear your mind about the search, it might help," Remus suggested.  
  
"I'll try."  
  
&*&*&*&*&  
  
"Mom?" Lily said, looking at her ticket for the first time.  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"My ticket says platform 9 ¾, there's no such thing."  
  
"Lily, after all the things you've seen and heard about these last six weeks and you think there can be no such thing as platform 9 ¾?" Hermione asked.  
  
"Good point," Lily said, pushing her trolley.  
  
"Well, here we are," Hermione said stopping.  
  
"Mom, I don't see platform 9 ¾, we're standing in between platforms 9 and -," Lily gasped as person walked in front of them and right through the wall between platforms 9 and 10, "Wow."  
  
"That's how you get to platform 9 ¾."  
  
"So, I just walk threw platforms 9 and 10?" Lily asked.  
  
"That simple," Hermione said, "But if you're a bit nervous, it's good to go at a run."  
  
"Okay," Lily said and started to run towards the barrier, expecting to crash, but she didn't, "Well, I'll be damned," she said.  
  
"Language, Lily," Hermione said from behind her.  
  
"Yes, mom," Lily said.  
  
"Well," Hermione said, looking like she was about to cry, "um- I guess it's time to say good-bye, the train will be leaving soon."  
  
Lily pulled her mother into a tight hug, "I'm going to miss you, mom," Lily said and she meant it, she had never been without her mother for so long.  
  
"I'll miss you too, Lily," Hermione said, hugging her daughter back.  
  
"Well, I'll see you at Christmas," Hermione said.  
  
"Yeah, I'll owl you, mom," Lily said, getting on the train.  
  
"Love you," Hermione said.  
  
"Love you, too, mom."  
  
&*&*&*&  
  
Lily was trying to find and empty compartment, and so far she was having no luck and this was the last one, she opened the door to find two redheads sitting there.  
  
"Hello," Lily said, "Do you mind if I sit here? Everywhere else is full."  
  
"Sure," one of the redheads said, "I'm Xander (A/N: I love that name), by the way, and this is my twin sister Allison," he said, pointing to the girl sitting next to him.  
  
"But everyone calls me Ally," she said.  
  
"I'm Lily," Lily said.  
  
She stepped into the compartment and put away her trunk, before sitting down, putting her owl's cage next to her.  
  
"Pretty owl," Ally said.  
  
"Thank you, her name is Hathor."  
  
"Hathor," Ally repeated, "I like it."  
  
"Sounds kind of girly," Xander said.  
  
"Well, Xand," Ally put an arm over her brother's shoulder, and said, in mocking importance, "considering that the owl's a girl and the person who thought of the name was a girl, it might sound kind of, well, girlyish."  
  
"Wait!" Xander said, "I didn't know you were a girl!"  
  
Lily laughed while Ally took her arm off her brother's shoulder and pushed him off his seat.  
  
"So, Lily," Xander said, after getting off the floor and composing him self, "What year are you in?"  
  
"This is my first year here."  
  
"Ours too," Ally said, "What house do you want to be in?"  
  
"From what I've read, I want to be in Gryffindor and Ravenclaw," Lily said, remembering what she read in Hogwarts: A History.  
  
"In all likely-hood we're going to be in Gryffindor," Xander said.  
  
"Why?"  
  
"Our family has been in Gryffindor for ages, we think it's genetic, along with the red hair," Ally answered.  
  
After talking about mindless things for a half an hour, the compartment door opened and a girl with white-blonde came in and sat down.  
  
"Hey Ally, hey Xand. Who's your friend?" the girl asked.  
  
"Oh, Nicki, this is Lily, Lily this is our cousin, Nicki," Ally introduced.  
  
"Hello," Lily said, shaking Nicki's hand.  
  
"Hello."  
  
"You've been made a prefect, I see," Xander said.  
  
"Yes, I have. Mum and dad we're really proud," Nicki said.  
  
"So," Ally said, "how are Aunt Fleur and Uncle Bill?" (A/N: I bet you all thought it would be Draco's kid!)  
  
"They're great," Ally said.  
  
*&*&*&*&*&*&  
  
A half an hour later Nicki left and an hour after that the lady with the food cart came.  
  
"Anything from the trolley dears?" she asked.  
  
The three of them went over a bought a variety of things.  
  
"Wow," Lily said, "Wizarding candy is so much better then Muggle candy!"  
  
"You're a Muggle-born?" Xander asked, "Not that we care if you're a Muggle- born or not, we feel that the whole purebloods-are-better-than-everyone- else thing is a piece of crap."  
  
"I could tell you if I was a Muggle-born if I knew what that is," Lily said.  
  
"A Muggle-born is a witch or wizard who has muggle parents," Ally explained.  
  
"Oh, I'm not a Muggle-born, my mom and dad were a witch and wizard, but I was raised as a muggle."  
  
A few hours later the train stopped and they got out when they heard someone shouting, "Firs' years! Firs' years over here!"  
  
"Hello, Hagrid," Ally and Xander said.  
  
"`Ello, Ally, Xander, who's yer friend?" Hagrid asked. (A/N: I'm REALLY bad at writing accents, sorry if Hagrid's sounds really bad.)  
  
"This is our friend Ally, Ally this is Hagrid, he's the gamekeeper and the Care of Magical Creatures Professor."  
  
"Hello," Lily said.  
  
After crossing the lake (Xander started goofing off and would have fallen into the lake if Lily didn't catch him.) They had just walked into the Great Hall, Lily looked up at the ceiling, she may have read about it in Hogwarts: A History, but it was so much more amazing in real life. She looked up at the staff table when her eyes rested on someone who looked familiar, 'Where have I seen him before?' Lily thought, 'He looks so familiar, his eyes look a lot like mine... Oh crap! It's my dad! He looks just like he did in that picture except a dozen years older.'  
  
An elderly lady with her hair in a tight bun came out with a stool and a hat she out the hat on the stool and to Lily's, and all the other first years' surprise, it started to sing:  
  
(A/N: I don't feel like coming up with a song)  
  
The same lady came back out and said "When I call your name please come put the hat on your head. Alter, Katie"  
  
Lily zoned out looking at her father, knowing that either way this year would be a living Hell, Lily continued to out until she heard her name called; " Granger, Lily"  
  
&*&*&*&*&  
  
Harry was only paying mild attention to the sorting when a name caught his hear, a name he had been looking for for the last twelve years.  
  
"Granger, Lily" he heard McGonagall say, at the word Granger his head spun around to look at a girl that was a little small for her age, had slightly messy brown hair; she sat down on the stool and put the hat over her head before Harry could see what color her eyes were.  
  
'She couldn't be Hermione's kid, that would be impossible,' Harry thought, 'Granger is a perfectly common name. Your just being paranoid because you want to find Hermione so bad.'  
  
&*&*&*&*  
  
Lily walked over and put the Sorting Hat on, "Hello," she heard the sorting hat say.  
  
'Hello,' Lily thought.  
  
"So, this is Potter and Granger's daughter, and yes Lily that is your father over there," the Hat said.  
  
'Great,' Lily thought, 'I'm not even in the Wizarding world twenty minutes and I run into my father.'  
  
"I'm having a hard time choosing a house for you, you would seem to do well in Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin, I'm not sure where to put you."  
  
'I don't care as long as it's not Slytherin,' Lily thought.  
  
"I think I know what house to put you in, yes, what you just said confirmed it, I think I will put you in-GRYFFINDOR!" the Hat shouted the last part to the whole hall.  
  
Lily went to the Gryffindor table, but once she sat down she felt a pair of eyes on her, she turned around to see her father looking at her, 'Damn,' she thought, 'I hope he doesn't put two and two together, I really don't want to be the one that has to explain everything to him, considering there is so much stuff I don't know.'  
  
"Congratulations," a voice said pulling Lily out of her thoughts.  
  
"Oh, hi Nicki," Lily said to her new friends' cousin.  
  
"If you don't mind me asking, what's your mum's name?" Nicki asked.  
  
'Why would she want to know that?' Lily asked herself.  
  
"Hermione Granger," Lily said.  
  
Lily could've sworn that she saw Nicki's eyes widen, "And you dad?" Nicki asked.  
  
'It probably wouldn't be good if I said one of my professors, not to mention one of the most famous people in the wizarding world, was my father.'  
  
"Never met him," Lily shrugged, 'It's not a lie, you never said that you didn't know who he was, and you have never met him.'  
  
Nicki looked a little disappointed and a few minutes later Lily hear a name her recognized, "Weasley, Alexander" Lily heard McGonagall say, Lily turned around and saw Xander walk over to the stool and put on the Hat, 'Of course, that's just my luck, I'm new to this school, my dad, who doesn't even know I exist, works here, and my new friends are related to one of my mom's best friends, I am doomed!'  
  
After dinner (Xander and Ally had been placed in Gryffindor and Professor Dumbledore confirmed Lily's suspicions of her father working with her) she finally got to her bedroom and fell asleep.  
  
&*&*&*&*&  
  
Unlike his daughter that he unknowingly had, Harry could not get to sleep, that girl had looked so much like him and Hermione Harry thought his and Hermione's daughter would look like that, 'Stop that Harry!' he thought to himself, 'DON'T get paranoid, Remus was right, I need to use these months to organize and clear my thought out about Hermione.'  
  
But no matter what Harry said he still had the thought of Hermione and this girl-Lily- in the back of his head.  
  
A/N: End of chappy three! Plz R&R! 


	4. Daddy's Little Girl

Title: This Thing We Call Life

E-mail: iamprotectedbywitchcraftyahoo.com 

Summery: PG-13, 11 years of secrets are about to come back and bite Hermione in the $$, but what she's worried about most is how Harry will react when he finds out the secret she's been hiding from him the last 11 years; a daughter.

Rating: PG-13 Spoilers: 

Books 1-5 There is slight OotP spoilers in this chappy, nothing huge, and nothing about the death, yet, but it may come up in later chapters. Disclaimers: I do not own anything and I am not making any money off this fic. 

**A/N:** I know, I know it took my **forever** to get this up! And I know it's smaller than my other chapters, but I got it up. There probably won't be any up-dates of about 2-3 weeks, because I'm going to be in Italy, sorry! 

Chapter 4: **Daddy's Little Girl******

Lily went to the Great Hall the next morning for breakfast, she met Xander and Ally in the Common Room. 

"Hey, Ally, how come you didn't wake me up?" Lily asked her newfound dorm-mate and friend. 

"I tried, but you sleep harder than Uncle Ron!" Ally said. 

"Okay lets head out to the Great Hall," Xander said, wondering how anyone could sleep harder than Uncle Ron. 

"When do we get our timetables?" Lily asked. 

"After breakfast," A voice said behind them. 

"Hey, Nicki," Ally said. 

"Hiya, cuz," Xander greeted. 

"So," Nicki said, "Are you like your mother when it comes to school? The you learn the better?" 

"How do you know her mother?" Xander asked. 

"She asked me," Lily answered for Nicki. 

"Yeah, her mum is THE HERMIONE GRANGER!" Nicki said, as they continued walking to the great hall. 

"WHAT?!" Ally and Xander screamed at the same time. 

"What's the big deal with my mom being Hermione Granger?" Lily asked, though she was pretty sure she already knew. 

"Because your mum, who loved school and thought very few things were more important then it, disappeared in the middle of her seventh and final year, never to be seen again!" Nicki said. 

"Yes," Xander continued, "and in the time she went missing her best friend and boyfriend have spent the entire time looking for her, and now, eleven and a half years later, her daughter shows up, it's a fairly big deal... wait a second, you're here eleven and a half years after she disappeared. Hermione Granger disappeared while she was dating Harry Potter... Merlin! YOUR Hatheptayter" Xander never got to finish his sentence because Lily covered his mouth with her hand. 

"Keep it down, Xand!" Lily hissed Nicki and Ally stood there, gaping at her, "I can't believe it," Nicki said, "does Harry know he has a child?" 

"No," Lily answered, "you wouldn't believe how bad I felt about being angry at whoever the hell my father was, only to find out he didn't even know I existed." They had been talking so long that they finally reached the Great Hall, "Can we talk about this later?" Lily asked, glad that she had found away to get off the unwanted subject. 

"Okay," Nicki said, getting the hint, "I'll see you three later." Then she left her cousins and their new friend and joined hers. 

&&&&

After they had finished eating their breakfast (Lily had the feeling that her father had been staring at her the whole time) Professor McGonagall passed out their timetables. 

"Yes!" Xander said, "We have Defense Against the Dark Arts first!" 

"Why is that a good thing?" Lily asked, wondering what the odds of this were. 

"It's good because our Uncle Ron is his best friend and we've known Harry all of our lives, but we haven't seen him all summer. He's been looking for...oh" Ally said, before catching on. 

"So, Lily Flower, I guess having Defense Against the Dark Arts first isn't such a good thing for you, huh?" Xander said. 

"No, not really. You don't think he'll ask me a bunch of stuff, do you?" 

"Do you want THE truth or the friend truth?" Xander asked. 

"Friend?" 

"No way!" Ally answered "Why would he bug you with stuff lie that?" 

"Let's try THE truth," Lily said. 

"Yeah," Ally replied truthfully, "he's been searching for your mum for over a decade and now suddenly and eleven year old girl with the same last name shows up, I think he may have some questions." 

"Fun," Lily said sarcastically. 

&&&&

Class was going to start in five minutes and Harry was waiting for his students to arrive. _How is it that I can face Voldemort, but I get nervous when I'm about to tech first years?_

"You'll do fine Harry, remember the DA?" Remus said from the doorway. 

Harry cringed at the out come of it, "Why are you here Remus, aren't you supposed to be working on something for The Order? See if Voldemort will actually come out of hiding; ten years, you think we could find him." 

"If there's a pattern he'll show up soon, but that's not what I came here for. I came to remind you." 

"Remind me what?" 

"Don't do anything stupid about the Granger girl." 

"What makes you think I would do anything stupid about that?" Remus just looked at him. "Shut up Remus." Remus just looked at him again, "I'll try," was all Harry could say before 11 year olds started to flood his classroom, forcing him old professor to leave. 

&&&&

During the 45 minute lesson Harry kept his promise to Remus, but after the lesson he couldn't help himself, "Miss. Granger, can I talk to you?" he called, just as she was about to leave the classroom. Lily turned from the door and walked over to the parent that didn't know how close they truly were. 

"Miss. Granger, if you don't mind me asking, who are your parents?" 

"My mom is Hermione Granger," Lily answered truthfully. 

"And your father?" Harry asked, slightly worried. 

"Never really knew him," she answered, "mom doesn't talk about him much. All I know is that he was never around." 

Harry took a deep breath, "When were you born?" Lily knew that if she answered that question he would know that she was his and if she didn't he would know she was his. 

"January 12." Lily said, before leaving the classroom to get to her History of Magic class. 

&&&&

Harry sat at his desk, letting the knowledge that he had just received sink in. He had a daughter with Hermione. 

"What did you do?" Remus shouted, interrupting Harry's pondering, "That Granger girl was running out of here crying!" 

"Remus..." 

"WHAT?!" 

"I have a daughter with Hermione." He whispered. "Well, is that any excuse to make a first year cry... wait, WHAT?! 

**A/N:** plz R&R


End file.
